Kyoto Having Reverse Effect in New Zealand

According to Peter Berg, president of the Forest Owners Association, government policies that attempt to comply with Kyoto protocols have increased deforestation in the nation, as areas of harvest are increasingly turned into those for dairy or livestock.

Mr Berg said that government policy was triggering deforestation because of "the liability forest owners potentially face if, after harvest, they don't replant forests originally planted before 1990. This could be paying up to $25,000 a hectare."

It should be fun to watch the Kyoto requirements unfold. My guess is that the cheating will make OPEC countries look like saints.